Instantly Verify Business Information with Smile Identity Business Verification

Smile Identity is launching a new Business Verification API that connects directly with business registration databases in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, allowing you to verify over 7 million companies.

In 2021, over 4.3 billion dollars in funding was raised by African start-ups. With increased funding, more founders are emboldened to start companies. In fact, in the 2020/2021 annual report the CIPC reported an increase in business registrations of 32%.

This year the CIPC annual report noted that, “there has been an increasing trend in company registrations over the past five (5) years”.

CIPC Annual Report 2022

The growth in the number of new businesses being founded also means opportunities for bad actors to take advantage of a crowded market.

With B2B contracts often being of higher value than B2C, trust is one of the most important factors in a B2B relationship. Smile Identity’s Business Verification allows you to instantly find information such as business registration records and beneficial owners to get a better understanding of the companies you are working with.

Business information from trusted sources

Business Verification queries business information directly from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) in South Africa and the Business Registration Service in Kenya. Together these organizations register over 1.3 million businesses per year.

Speed up onboarding by removing contracting barriers

Business Verification returns many data points with only a registration number or tax number. Your customers won’t need to submit documentation or complete lengthy onboarding questionnaires. Simply have them supply their registration number and find the rest of the verification information you need.

By running the verification through an API it removes the need to have your staff manually check documents further speeding up the process and saving you team time.

KYB and KYC all in one

With Business Verification you can find valuable information about directors, beneficial owners and proprietors. To further enhance security, you can run a subsequent Enhanced KYC check on the individual stakeholders in the business you are about to work with. This ensures not only that the business is a registered entity but also confirms the identity of the stakeholders involved in the company.

This dual check can all be run through a single integration into Smile Identity’s API to ensure your business deals are secure with minimal effort.